Hospitality at wakes and funerals in Ireland from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century: Some evidence from the written record

Several aspects of mortuary customs in Ireland have already been studied in detail. This paper focuses on the role of hospitality on the occasion of death from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. Based on a variety of written records, it discusses the attitudes of both lay and clerical commentators-officials, travellers and writers on the one hand, and the clergy on the other-to the provision of hospitality, particularly before the interment of the corpse. The meaning of hospitality for the bereaved family, the community, and the deceased is also explored.